Monday, September 17

PlanetUNI camp.

HI IM BACK.
Last weekend I was at Philip Island for PlanetUNI camp (church camp) and everyone has been asking how it was and all I can say is it was the most AMAZING camp I've ever been to.

picture credits : planetshakers.com

And so I have a testimony to share.
TBH, before this, church camp was always a time to play games and meet cute boys but after coming to Planetshakers, everyone just keeps talking about encountering God at camp and what an awesome time we will have in God's presence. I was curious, like how good can this encounter be? I wanted to see for myself but I wasn't hungry for it.

When the camp dates were released and registration forms were handed out, I found out camp clashes with my Physics exam. I was quite disappointed cos everyone was talking about how fun it is going to be and imagine all the cute boys I will not meet ! Just saying.
That was when my UL girls suggested I apply for special consideration.

Wah it really never crossed my mind that it is possible to move an exam date but I decided to take the step of faith and talk to my lecturer. My lecturer was really nice and agreed to talk to the dean for me sadly he stopped teaching and his role was taken up by someone else. *cough not the best *cough person in the world *cough.

As I was under 18 (still under 18 hehehe) there was a lot of procedures that I needed to go through and that was like adding to the procedures of changing my exam date. I had to get my sister and my leaders to call school, I needed my dad's letter (which he gave me permission to write and sign myself lol) and my pastor's letter, all in one week.I really felt like giving up on this application.

Someone told me "you're causing so much trouble. Church camp for what ? Is it more important than your studies?" and it made me think, yahor whats the point of working so hard to get to a church camp that I can go again next year ? Might as well study and get into Melb Uni. I needed my pastor's letter for goodness sake, I've never even talked to my pastor before let alone get a letter from him.

You may call it coincidence but I would say God planned this because I told my sister about this and apparently she is meeting my uni pastor the very next day. I got the letter in less than 2 days, everything fell into place and my application was approved.

Not only that I also got to change the date of my other exam which ends right before the last bus leaves for Philip Island. Lecturer even told me to have a great holiday (Y)

Excitement while we get our rooms !!

Earlier I mentioned that I wasn't hungry for an encounter but after my application was approved, which I still find kind of hard to believe, and as we had combined UL, meetings (I'm from the blue team, didn't win but we're still pretty cool), I just really started wanting this encounter. I started feeling hungry and it wasn't the kind where the fridge can fill me. I wanted his presence more than anything else, I wanted that defining encounter and that was exactly what I got from camp.

Had to study the night I came back for Physics exam the very next day but it was SO WORTH IT. I nearly let the lies of the enemy get to me but God is my savior. He won't ever let me sink in those lies. Thank you so much to my UL girls for the crazy idea and all the prayers / encouragement.

and not forgetting the amazing sister.
Part of me wanted to go to this camp cos its probably the last and only camp I will ever be able to attend together with her. WHERE CAN MISS RIGHT ?

After camp, I really started wanting more and more of his presence.

God is SO GOOD. I mean even my parents went "Where can change exam one ???" and even on the day of camp itself someone tried to mock me by saying I take religion too seriously, even more serious than my studies.

What I've learned since I came to
Melbourne is that Christianity isn't all about religion and the bible
isn't a rule book. Christianity is all about having a relationship with
God and His unconditional love for us and yes, I want to put His kingdom
first in everything.

AIYO SO WORDY OK MUST STOP, here are some pictures from camp !

blue face paint during the varsity games !

My beautiful blue UL girls.

and last but not least, our mascot Slenderman

If lizzy didn't explain to me, I would never know what our mascot was lol.

Yellow team's mascot was Lion Of Judah but well Slenderman is pretty cool too.

and it just makes me feel SO THANKFUL that I didn't miss this camp. Imagine missing out on all this, on all the fun at varsity games and missing out on encountering God.

Through this camp God showed me, so evidently that He truly is my
comforter. Words cannot describe how I felt but one thing for sure, it
wasn't natural. It was supernatural. I really believe that going
to camp wasn't by coincidence. It was God who brought me there, to be
able to encounter him at a whole new level. Wah really don't know how to tell you this.

God is just so good I can't even put it in words, which is why this blogpost ends here.